Thanks for all the advice on trapping. It's good to hear from like-minded individuals, and I am encouraged by the person who has been trapping for a while, trial and error, finally getting the mother, or the source of all the kitties.

Right now, I've bought cages, two cages. Cages work for socializing, I find. Just place them with the kittens in the middle of a room full of humans (children), a dog or two and cats, and those kittens will probably become domesticated. However, last year we failed to capture the mother. Now it's either her or more likely one from her second litter who has had kitties. I've put out two cages, one more petit. What I'm afraid of now is, with all the rain, a couple of the kittens appeared ill (rhumy or possibly worse - hard to tell from where I was - white patches around his/her eyes and nose). I'm trying not to worry about it, because what is one to do, that's life, etc. I had wanted to capture all the cats together in the cage (closing with the pull of a string), but that's not going to be possible. Now I got closer to the mother and one kitten, who was then hissed at by his/her mother. So I guess it's time to catch them and try to find some vet near Montreal or on the North shore who will fix them for little. We're thinking we'll have to let these cats go afterwards. We simply can't keep them in the (not enough space with a dog and 3 cats who might piss over everything with newcomers) and all the shelters are full. The kittens are about 3-4 mos. old. If there's any advice out there. I might have to get the mother and a kitten at a time. I'm just worried about the consequences to the kittens who are not caught with the mother, if they're sick, etc...One more point, I haven't found A THING on capturing a family. Obviously you can't use a trap, and there's nothing out there about what to do if you get the mother and not all of the babies. I'm just "praying" that they will eventually come out, looking for food, and that they're feeling better. Also, soooo worried about the song birds with all the stray cats around here. I try not to let mine out (a couple of our kitties are from the litter we captured last year).